


Stress Cleaning

by BeccaAnne814



Series: Bucky Barnes x Reader Oneshots [15]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: A smidgen of Angst but not really, F/M, Fluff, Probably a curse word or two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22133593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeccaAnne814/pseuds/BeccaAnne814
Summary: Bucky hated stress. He’d spent so many years actively avoiding stressful situations that now the slightest increase in his anxiety level sent him reeling.  Home alone and feeling completely useless, he does the only thing he can think of—he begins to clean.
Relationships: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Series: Bucky Barnes x Reader Oneshots [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/772437
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Stress Cleaning

**Bucky Barnes x Reader**

**Summary** – Bucky hated stress. He'd spent so many years actively avoiding stressful situations that now the slightest increase in his anxiety level sent him reeling. Home alone and feeling completely useless, he does the only thing he can think of—he begins to clean.

**Warnings** – Fluff, A smidgen of Angst but not really. . .probably a curse word or two

**Word Count** – 1.3K

**Notes:** At the end.

_ ** [Masterlist](https://beccaanne814.tumblr.com/post/174989754188/masterlist) ** _

[[MORE]]

He hated stress. He'd spent so many years actively avoiding stressful situations that now the slightest increase in his anxiety level sent him reeling. During a active battle, he could control his nerves and focus on the threat at hand, but the current state of affairs didn't afford him the luxury of tuning out the voices in his mind. How he wished for a catastrophe to distract him from his worries.

Feeling completely useless, he did the only thing he could think of—he began to clean. YN would probably roll on the floor laughing if she could see him now. With his hair pulled back into a low bun at the base of skull, and a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves adorning his hands, he looked ridiculous. 

He'd started in the kitchen since there were so many nooks and crannies that needed attention. The oven was first, and he'd spent a good thirty minutes on his hands and knees with a pad of steel wool and the harsh smell of oven cleaner wafting in his face. The new arm Shuri had created for him helped give him an edge over the baked on grease that seemed to be shellacked to the black and white speckled porcelain. As he stood back to survey his work, he took a moment to bask in his own pride at the way the oven gleamed as though it was brand new.

He glanced up, and the clock on the stove had his stomach plummeting. It was a quarter to two in the morning, and he still hadn't heard a word from her. With his doubts and worries starting to creep back in, he turned his attention to the microwave. YN was always fussing at him for not placing a paper towel over his leftovers before he reheated them, and now that he saw the mess that was caked on the roof and sides of the heating device, he realized why. With his nose scrunched up in disgust, he grabbed a softer scouring pad and began to scrub away leftover spaghetti and pizza.

As the hours of the night slowly passed with no word from her, he continued to clean. By four o'clock, the kitchen was spotless and he'd moved on to the bathroom. YN usually did the cleaning, but with everything going on the past few weeks, it had been a while since she'd gotten a chance to scrub the toilet or remove the film of soap scum that lined the glass door of the shower stall. With nothing else to occupy his mind, he got to work.

By the time the sun was rising, he'd cleaned every square inch of the tiny apartment he shared with the woman he loved. Worry for her had been kept at bay while he'd shined and polished the woodwork and mopped the hardwood floors, but now he was left with nothing to do.

He debated texting Steve, but thought better of it. YN was a grown woman, and she was more than capable of taking care of herself. If he texted Steve, it might make her doubt herself, and he would rather die than to make her think she wasn't good enough.

As he sat on the edge of the couch and stared at his phone, it lit up with an incoming text.

"You up?"

Relief washed over him as the familiar picture of the two of them popped up beside her message.

"For you, always."

He waited as the three blinking dots signaled that she was typing out a response.

"I'm going to run by that diner we love and grab some pancakes to go. Blueberry?"

"With extra syrup and a side of bacon, please."

"Got it."

He put away the phone and leaned back against the cushions. She was coming home—and bringing breakfast. His eyes began to grow heavy with exhaustion now that the worst had passed, but he didn't want to fall asleep just yet. Waiting until she was safely wrapped in his arms would ensure that he slept like a baby.

Dragging himself off the couch, he turned on the coffee pot before shuffling toward the immaculately clean bathroom to grab a quick shower. He figured it would take her at least twenty minutes to get to the diner and back to their apartment, so he had time to wash away the sweat and grime that had accumulated on his skin while he'd cleaned.

The door opened just as he was tying back his hair again and he heard her call out for him. "I'll be right there," he answered as he stared at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. He knew he would have to find a way to cope with the reality of their lives eventually, but he was at a loss to figure out how.

"Did you clean?" YN asked as she stared at the kitchen.

"I couldn't sleep last night," he told her as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. 

She leaned into him as he began to nuzzle her neck. "As amazing as that feels, I'm starving and filthy. Let's eat and then we can continue this in the shower."

"Sounds good to me." He opened a cabinet and got a couple plates while she grabbed some silverware and mugs for the freshly brewed coffee.

"How was the mission with Steve?"

She let out a groan. "Remind me to never go on a mission with him by myself again. He's the most reckless idiot I've ever worked with."

Bucky let out a bark of laughter. "Welcome to my world, doll. I've been dealing with that overgrown chihuahua for almost a hundred years, so its about time someone else got the pleasure of trying to control him."

She shook her head and placeD her hands on either side of his face. "I missed having you there to watch my back."

"I missed being there to watch your back," he said with a sigh. He debated whether or not he should tell her, but decided that she deserved his honesty. "I've been sick with worry all night."

Her smile faded as she studied his face. Now that she was paying attention, she could see the pronounced lines between his brows and the dark circles under his eyes. "Let's make a promise right now, huh? No more missions without each other." She paused and looked around the kitchen. "Although, I could really get used to coming home to a clean apartment."

"Let's eat and then I can show you how clean the bathroom is," he teased as he guided her toward the table full of takeout containers. "I also changed the sheets as well."

"Really?" she asked. "How'd that go?"

He began doling out the food onto their plates as she sat back and took a sip of her coffee. "It was touch and go there for a while. That fitted sheet almost won, but I finally showed it who's boss."

"I would have paid good money to have seen that," she said with a chuckle.

He reached across he table and took her hand. "I'm glad you're home, and in one piece. I would've hated to have to kill my best friend if something had happened to you."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He pretty much said the same thing." She gave him a wink. "Two supersoldiers willing to die to protect me? How'd I get so lucky?"

"I love you, you know."

"I love you, too, Buck. Now hurry up and finish eating so I can check out how clean that bathroom is." She gave him an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle to let him know the state of the bathroom wasn't the only thing she wanted to check out.

_______________

_Thank you for reading Day 54 of my writing challenge! I hope you enjoyed it! I’m always hesitant to write my Readers with certain traits since I try to be as inclusive as possible, so that’s why I focused on Bucky’s need to stress clean! For some reason I keep envisioning him wearing the apron Buzz Lightyear wore when he was Mrs. Nesbit! Did you think it was sweet that he was so worried about her? I look forward to your comments!_

If you liked this story, please consider reblogging, and if you have any questions, my _[inbox](https://beccaanne814.tumblr.com/ask)_ is always open! 


End file.
